


Selfish And Brave - An Insomnia Divergent AU

by Pan_AtTheDisco



Category: Divergent Series - Veronica Roth, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Divergent AU, F/F, M/M, No Smut, Sanscest - Freeform, Undertale aus, pretty much everyone is gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-18 00:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21502363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pan_AtTheDisco/pseuds/Pan_AtTheDisco
Summary: ~Based on Veronica Roth's "Divergent"~In a futuristic world divided into five factions-- Abnegation, Dauntless, Candor, Erudite, and Amity-- each and every person entering adulthood must choose a faction to stay loyal to for the rest of their lives.Dream never knew where he could possibly belong. As he enters initiation, he realizes that he is Divergent, which means that he fits into more than just one faction. He has been warned to conceal his identity, or else the lives of all of his loved ones are in danger.
Relationships: Blueberry/Dust, Dream/Error, Error/Dream, Insomnia - Relationship, Nightmare/Cross, Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Kudos: 30





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story on here so uhh enjoy-!

Hey!

Before we start, I just wanna make a couple of points.

First of all, this fanfiction is mostly focused on Insomnia. Yes, that's Dream x Error. Don't like the ship? Don't read this, and don't complain and be all "oH iT'S sUpPoSeD tO bE eRrOrInK/cReAm/kReMe--"

Just don't read it, it's simple.

Anyways, I'd thought I'd give you a heads-up on the ships that will appear in this book:

Insomnia (duh)

Crossmare

Dustberry

Afterdeath

Scifell

InkError (briefly)

Kreme (briefly)

So that's that.

Anyways, this story is based off of Veronica Roth's novel called "Divergent." If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, please do. It's great. Or at least read the plot synopsis on google, I dunno--

But I've been working pretty hard on planning this book, so... enjoy~!

~Abby


	2. Abnegation

The kitchen was mostly quiet except for the occasional clatter of dishes that rang out as Nightmare set the table. Dream stood by the stove, wearing a flat expression as he watched his brother. He picked up a small pan of plain food that he had made; peas and defrosted chicken. Flavorless, as always. Dream didn't cringe or grimace. Their mother always told them that eating fancy food would be self-indulgent.

It had been Dream's turn to cook dinner that night. The tasks are switched every day. Someone cleans, someone cooks, and someone sets the table.

"Ready," Nightmare said. Dream separated the food into three equal portions. He looked up and stared at the fourth, empty chair at the table. His soul felt heavy. His father was meant to sit there. Their father had died when Dream and Nightmare were only young children. Now it was just him, Nightmare, and their mother, Joku.

"Go get mom," Nightmare told him.

Nightmare worried him. He was born different, covered in a goopy black substance and with four terrifying tentacles coming out of his back. No one was quite sure how that managed to happen, but no one questioned it for long.

Dream also knew that Nightmare wasn't fit for the faction they were born in, Abnegation. Nightmare was not at all selfless, which was a trait that the Abnegation all strive to be. He was mostly rude, and was careless about following the Abnegation rules. 

Then again, Dream couldn't possibly be truly Abnegation either. He didn't care about being selfless. He didn't want to be polite and respectful all the time, it was tiring.

"Okay," Dream replied. He set off down the hall, pausing briefly as he passed by the cabinet that contained the one and only mirror in their house. He stared at the wooden doors. He could easily pull back the wooden doors and sneak a quick peek at his reflection. He hadn't seen what he looked like for three months. Abnegation allows you to look in the mirror on the third day of the third month. Even then, you weren't allowed to stare.

That would be selfish.

Dream shook his head. _Stupid,_ he scolded himself. He walked past the mirror and gently pushed the door open to his mother's room. 

"Mom, dinner."

Dream led Joku back into the kitchen. Nightmare had already sat down and was already beginning to eat.

"Nightmare," Joku reprimanded him. Her tone was firm, not quite scolding. "You're supposed to wait for us to start eating."

"Sorry," Nightmare muttered.

Joku sat down and picked up her fork, starting to eat. Dream poked at his food absentmindedly, his appetite long gone.

For a while it was silent, not including the clatter of silverware against the plates. Dream noticed that Joku was staring at them.

"Are you guys ready for tomorrow?" she asked.

Dream and Nightmare exchanged glances. Tomorrow, during school, they would take their aptitude tests. Sixteen-year-olds from all five factions take the tests, and the test results would suggest one of the five factions to spend their lives in-- Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Candor, and Amity. The day after the aptitude tests was Choosing Day, where they would make their official choice.

The thought of Choosing Day sent waves of guilt through Dream. How could he possibly leave his mother and Abnegation to choose an entirely new lifestyle? The thought was unbearable.

"Mhm," Nightmare mumbled evasively. Dream glanced at his brother and quietly wondered, _What is going on inside his head?_

"Any idea what faction to choose?" Joku asked quietly.

Dream put down his fork, feeling nauseous. Oh god, what was he going to choose?

Abnegation was the obvious choice. It's where he and Nightmare grew up. The Abnegation members value selflessness. Everyone was polite and respectful, bowing heads to each other instead of shaking hands. Looking at this life from the outside, Dream fell in love with it. Living it was the hard part.

There was Erudite, Abnegation's rival faction. The Erudite members value knowledge. They were all know-it-alls, and were always striving to satisfy their thirst for knowledge and wisdom. The Abnegation thought that the Erudite were all selfish, and Dream agreed. He could never become an Erudite.

Candor was the faction that valued honesty. They grow up telling the truth, learning ways to recognize lies and deception. There was no surefire way to lie to a Candor and get away with it. Dream didn't know if he could be honest.

Amity valued kindness. This was the most peaceful faction. All of the Amity wore red and yellow comfortable clothes. They were always smiling, always laughing. Somehow Dream didn't think that was the faction for him.

Finally there was the Dauntless, who valued bravery. They wore all black and were confident, always do dangerous, stupid stunts like jumping off buildings and leaping off moving trains. They were loud and laughing and always joking around, almost as carefree as the Amity. But Dream didn't know if he was brave.

Joku frowned at their silence. "So you're still not sure?"

"I am, a bit," Dream lied, smiling politely. He definitely couldn't be Candor.

"And you?" Joku glanced at Nightmare.

"Yeah." Nightmare poked at his food. _He couldn't be Candor either,_ Dream thought wryly.

"Remember that the aptitude tests don't mean anything," Joku said quietly. "They're only meant to give you a small idea of where to go. They don't have to affect your choice."

_Don't they, though?_

Dream just nodded and stared down at his plate. Nightmare put down his fork and picked up his plate of uneaten food.

"Thanks for dinner," he said to Dream. He cleared his plate and put it in the sink. Then he left to his room without washing his dish.

Joku frowned at this but continued eating her food. A silence hung in the air, until Dream couldn't stand it anymore. He stood up and grabbed his plate, walking to the trash and clearing it. Joku watched him disapprovingly as he put his plate in the sink.

"Good night, mom," Dream mumbled. He hurried upstairs, headed for his room. 

Nightmare was standing in the hall outside of their rooms. Dream slowed down and paused, standing in from of him.

"Hey," Nightmare said quietly.

"Hey," Dream smiled faintly. They watched each other, as if reading each other's minds. The upcoming Choosing Day was on both of their minds.

"Are you scared?" Dream finally asked.

"Scared?" Nightmare rolled his eye. "Of what?"

"Good point." Dream gave a weak smile.

Nightmare's expression turned serious. He glanced around, as if not wanting to be overheard.

"What is it?" Dream asked nervously.

"Do you know what you're going to choose yet?" Nightmare asked him quietly. Dream shook his head.

"We can't stay here," Nightmare added softly. "You know that."

"I know. But..." Dream hesitated, full of guilt. "We can't just leave Mom."

"Yeah." Nightmare sighed. "We do have to think about family. But... we also have to think about ourselves."

Dream smiled slightly. "That's not very Abnegation of you."

"Mhm." Nightmare gave a grim smile in return.

"Well..." Dream fiddled with his sweater.

"Good night." Nightmare stepped back into his room.

"Yeah." Dream sighed softly. "'Night." 


	3. Aptitude Test

It felt like Dream had just barely closed his eyes when he felt his brother shaking him awake.

"Wake up," Nightmare muttered. "It's time."

Dream slipped out of bed and urgently prepared his things for school, struggling to keep his hands from shaking. Finally he went downstairs. Nightmare was waiting by the door, looking solemn.

"Let's go."

**~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

The bus reeked of exhaust. Dream was sitting in a seat next to a window, staring out of it without really seeing. Nightmare was sitting next to him, shifting around restlessly and looking anxious.

The bus was full. Around them, monsters and humans were all either sitting down or standing, chatting. A man, dressed in Erudite's blue-and-white attire, was standing next to Dream and Nightmare, clinging onto a pole for support. He was staring at both of them expectantly, as if waiting for one of them to commit a selfless act and give up their seats so that he could sit down.

Dream and Nightmare both ignored him.

"We're here." Nightmare's voice jolted Dream back into reality.

"Right." Dream got up and followed Nightmare, squeezing past people to get off the bus. Finally they set off towards the school, also known as the Upper Levels building.

The Upper Levels building was older than the other two schools in the main city; the Lower Levels and the Mid-Levels. All of the buildings were made out of steel and glass. It was slightly windy, so Dream pulled his plain grey Abnegation sweater more tightly around him.

Two Amity girls ran past them, racing towards the school. They screamed and cheered with delight. The wind buffeted their red and yellow dresses. Their friends from other factions ran close behind, cheering them on.

Dream ducked his head, avoiding eye contact, and followed Nightmare through the double doors into the Upper Levels building. 

Inside, the hallways were crowded and louder than usual. There was a sort of last-day mania buzzing around them; sixteen-year-olds from all factions were hugging each other and talking more than usual. Dream tried to ignore them, pushing past the crowds.

"Keep on walking, Stiffs!" An Erudite boy jeered at Dream and Nightmare. His friends laughed unpleasantly.

Nightmare opened his mouth to make an angry retort, but Dream grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him along the hall. "Don't let them get to you," he said softly.

As soon as they reached the East Wing of the school, they paused near a large window. Outside of the window, the railroad tracks were visible. Dream tilted his wrist and checked his watch. It was exactly 7:25. Any minute now...

Sure enough, the blast of the train horn sounded in the distance. Dream leaned closer to the window, straining to see. 

The long grey train circled into view, coming closer. The train whistle blared again. The bright white headlights flashed as the train zoomed past the school, the iron rails screeching. As the last few train carts passed by, black-clothed Dauntless young men and women came leaping off the train carts. A few of them stumbled on their feet, cheering and whooping. Some of them tumbled to the floor, laughing loudly. Dream watched a sixteen-year-old blonde Dauntless girl come leaping out of the train. Her feet slammed into the ground and she collapsed, laughing hard. Her friends followed, whooping, red-faced and sweaty.

"Come on," Nightmare urged, tugging Dream's sleeve gently. Dream turned away from the Dauntless kids and followed his brother down the hall.

Finally they reached a fork in the hallway. Nightmare was headed one way, to Faction History class, while Dream was headed for Advanced Math.

"See you at lunch," Nightmare called out over the loud chatter of students. He let go of Dream's hand and set off down the hallway. Dream watched him until he disappeared into the crowd, then turned away and headed for his classroom.

Today, the classes would be cut in half to make time for the aptitude tests, which would take place after lunch. Dream gave a nervous sigh, then shook his head.

 _Don't focus on that yet_ , he told himself firmly. _Not yet._

**~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Lunch came way too soon. Before Dream knew it, he was seated at the Abnegation table, staring down at his untouched tray of food. Nightmare sat across from him, looking just as nauseous as Dream felt. All they had to do was sit here and wait for his name to be called. Then he'd enter one of the testing rooms, where the aptitude test will tell him where to live the rest of his life.

Sounded easy enough.

Dream had no clue what the test might tell him-- Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, Erudite, or Candor?

He hoped with all of his soul that the test didn't tell him to choose Erudite. Even though he could barely fit in with the Abnegation, choosing Abnegation's rival faction was simply not an option for him.

To give himself something to do, Dream studied all of the sixteen-year-olds in the cafeteria. The Erudites were reading and discussing things at their table. The Amity kids were sitting on the floor, playing a hand-clapping game. They'd give occasional laughs of delight. The Candors were debating loudly, their eyes bright. The Dauntless played card games. Dream noticed the blonde girl from the train was laughing loudly, cheering her friends on.

Dream looked around at his fellow Abnegations. They were all quiet, with ducked heads and solemn expressions. 

The doors to the testing rooms opened. There were ten rooms in total. Most of the test proctors were Abnegation, but there were also two from Erudite, one from Dauntless, and one from Amity.

Dream listened closely as they called the names of the students; two from each faction. A small sigh of relief escaped him when he wasn't called to be tested first. 

The waiting was agony, however. After ten minutes or so, the sixteen-year-olds came out of the testing rooms looking either anxious or confident. The proctors called out the next round of students, then disappeared into the rooms again.

Finally, Dream heard Nightmare's name get called. Dream nervously watched his brother disappear into Room #2. He put his head down and squeezed his eyes shut.

Ten minutes later, he felt Nightmare drop into the seat next to him. Dream lifted his head and glanced at him. 

His brother was grim-faced and trembling. Dream opened his mouth to ask him how it went, then closed his mouth in shame. Curiosity was not an Abnegation trait.

He was so distracted that he barely noticed that the Amity woman in Room #5 had called his name. When she repeated herself, Dream shakily stood up and walked towards her. He clenched his fists against the hem of his sweater to keep his hands from shaking.

The Amity woman smiled at him kindly as he approached. She was tall, and like him, she wasn't a human, she was a monster. She appeared to be a goat. She wore a long comfortable yellow dress. Dream forced an uneasy smile and walked into the room.

The room had large mirrors covering every wall. In the center of the room, there was a reclining chair, similar to one you could find at the dentist. Dream never liked the dentist. Next to the chair, there was a large machine and long wires. It looked like a place where bad things happened.

The goat-woman closed the door behind her. "Hello, Dream," she greeted politely. "Please take a seat and get comfy. I am Toriel."

"Hi," Dream said meekly. He walked towards the chair, trying his best to ignore the terrifying machinery and wires. 

"You can relax," Toriel said gently, amusement lacing her voice. "Nothing bad will happen to you here."

Dream nodded stiffly and slid into the chair, clenching the armrests tightly.

Toriel was standing behind the machine, typing away at a computer. She then picked up the wires. She approached Dream and gently attached an electrode against his forehead.

"What will those do?" Dream asked before he could stop himself.

Toriel smiled. "Never met such a curious Abnegation before." She pressed another electrode to the side of Dream's head, then another on the opposite side. "They're not dangerous. They'll just allow me to see what's going on in the simulation."

"Oh." Dream watched her nervously.

Toriel pulled out a small vial of clear liquid from her pocket. She poured it into a small, delicate glass, then handed it to Dream. "Drink up."

Dream bit his tongue to keep from asking another question, then took the cup, drinking the simulation serum.

Toriel attached the electrodes to herself and stood behind the machine. "Ready?"

"Yeah..." Dream mumbled. His eyes closed.

**~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Dream's eyes had only closed for a second, but a soon as they opened again, he was in a different place. He was standing in the cafeteria again, but all of the tables were empty. It was eerily silent. Dream slowly revolved on the spot, looking around at his surroundings. Outside of the glass walls, snow was steadily falling down, even though in real life it was warm outside.

He turned back to face the tables. On the nearest table in front of him, there were two large baskets that he could've sworn weren't there before. In the first basket, there was a hunk of cheese. In the other, there was a large knife the size of his forearm.

"Choose," came a cold male voice from behind him.

Dream spun around. There was no one there.

Soul pounding, Dream called out, "Who are you?"

"Choose," the man ordered again, more firmly.

Dream slowly turned back to the baskets, staring at them. The cheese, or the knife?

"What will I do with them?" Dream demanded.

 _"Choose!"_ the man yelled.

Dream's confusion disappeared, replaced with indignation. He scowled, crossing his arms, and took a step back. "No."

"Very well," the man said, sounding annoyed. The baskets vanished.

Behind Dream, a door that seemed to come out of nowhere squeaked opened. Alarmed, Dream spun around.

A few yards away from him stood a large, long-furred dog with a long, pointed snout. A low growl rumbled from its throat. It took a step forward.

Dream stood frozen. Now he knew why the cheese might've come in handy.

Or the knife.

 _Quick,_ he thought desperately to himself, trying to formulate a plan. He knew that running away was not an option; that would end up provoking the dog to chase.

The dog snarled menacingly again, saliva dripping from it's jaws. Large, razor-sharp teeth were visible.

Dream tried to recall what he'd learned in biology class. Dogs can smell fear. Smelling fear would lead them to attack. Dream took deep breaths, trying to calm down. What else had he'd learned? _Don't look a dog in the eye_ , Dream told himself, staring at the floor. Staring a dog in the eye was a sign of aggression. So what was a sign of submission?

The large dog barked and bared its teeth, slowly padding closer.

Dream slowly sank to his knees. The last thing he wanted to do was kneel down in front of the beast, making it's teeth level with his face, but it was his only option. He bowed his head, squeezing his eyes shut.

The dog's claws scraped against the floor as it approached. Dream kept his eyes shut, soul pounding as he felt the dog's warm breath against his face. The dog barked into his nonexistent ear, the sound echoing throughout the cafeteria. Dream gritted his teeth to keep from crying out.

Suddenly the growling stopped. Something cold and rough nudged against Dream's cheek. 

Surprised, Dream opened his eyes and lifted his head. The dog was panting softly, its tongue drooping out of its mouth.

Frowning, Dream sat up on his heels. The dog propped its paws on Dream's knee and started licking his chin. Dream cringed, wiping away the saliva, and then laughed softly.

"You're not such a vicious beast after all, huh?"

He cautiously reached out a hand, and the dog nudged it. Dream grinned and started petting the dog, scratching behind its ears. He was suddenly glad he didn't pick the knife. 

The door squeaked open again. A little girl, around five years old, stepped into the cafeteria. She had dark hair and wore a white dress. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the dog.

"Puppy!" she squealed, holding out her arms. 

She started running towards the dog at Dream's side. Dream opened his mouth to warn her, but he was too late. The dog spun around, snarling furiously and snapping its jaws. It's muscles bunched up like coiled wire. About to spring at the girl.

Without thinking, Dream threw himself at the dog. He wrapped his arms around the dog's furry neck, his body slamming into the dog's and taking the beast to the ground.

As soon as Dream hit the floor, the scene changed. He was back in the testing room, laying on the reclining chair. He sat up, gasping.

Toriel was gone, the room was empty. Dream swallowed and got out of the chair, looking around. He couldn't see himself in any of the mirrors on the wall. 

Dream shook his head and turned away, walking towards the exit of the room. He pushed the door open and walked into the hallway-- except it wasn't a hallway, it was a bus. All of the seats were full.

A soft gasp escaped Dream as the bus jerked and rumbled along a gravelly road. He gripped on tightly to a pole to keep from stumbling over.

Sitting near him was a man, clutching a newspaper. The newspaper was being held so high that Dream couldn't see the man's face; he could only see the man's hands. They were scarred and burnt, and they were clutching the edges of the paper so tightly as if they wanted to crumple it.

"Excuse me," the strange man said. His voice was abrasive and hoarse. "Do you know this man?" He used one hand and tapped the front of the newspaper, which showed a picture of a man and an article underneath. Dream leaned closer to inspect the paper. The headline read, _"Brutal Murderer Finally Apprehended!"_

Dream stared at the picture of the man. The man had plain, familiar features. For some reason, Dream had a slight feeling that he knew this man, but he couldn't remember from when. He also knew that whatever happened, he couldn't tell the strange man this. It would be a bad idea.

"Well?" the strange man asked. There was rage burning in his voice. "Do you know him?"

Dream stayed silent. In the back of his mind, he knew telling this man would lead to a terrible fate. Something horrible would happen to him. He could be killed. But Dream can easily say no, say that he doesn't know who the man is. But that would be lying.

"Do you?"

Dream shrugged in response, trying to avoid the question.

"Yes or no?"

"No, sorry," Dream mumbled, lowering his gaze. This was just a simulation. This wasn't real, this wasn't real.

The man stands, lowering the newspaper. His face was finally visible. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes from view. His teeth were bared into a menacing sneer, his face covered in scars. He slowly came closer to Dream, leaning forward. his breath was foul, and smelled like cigarettes. Dream's soul pounded. _This isn't real, isn't real._

"You're lying to me," the man snarled. "I can see it in your face."

"Can you?" he replied coldly, staring back at the man steadily.

The man crumpled the newspaper. His hands were shaking with rage. "If you know him, you can save me!"

Dream crossed his arms. His soul was beating so fast he could hardly think straight.

"Looks like I can't, then."


	4. Divergent

Dream woke up in the reclining chair once more, unable to stop the soft gasp of relief that escaped him. He closed his eyes briefly and leaned back into the chair, wanting to curl up and never move.

He opened his eyes again and tilted his head to the side slightly, so that he could catch a glimpse of Toriel standing behind him. Her expression is unreadable as she removes the electrodes from themselves. Dream watches her expectantly, waiting for her to speak, waiting for her to mention something about the test. Instead she puts the wires down and stares at the machine. Her expression becomes somewhat disturbed.

Dream finally spoke. "Is something wrong?" he asked, his voice was hoarse.

Toriel doesn't look at him and doesn't answer him; In fact, she completely ignores his existence.

Dream sat up, nervously wiping his palms off. The strange look on Toriel's face made him uneasy. Did he do awful? Did he fail? How could he possibly fail a test that he couldn't be prepared for?

"Well," Toriel finally spoke after what seemed like forever. "That was..." her voice trailed off. "Perplexing," she finished, frowning at Dream. "Excuse for a moment."

Perplexing? Dream stared at Toriel, confounded, as the Amity woman leaves the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Dream hugged his knees into his chest, burying his face into the fabric and struggling to resist the urge to start crying. 

How could something possibly go wrong on a test like this? Dream was filled with dread. What if she came back and told him that he didn't belong anywhere? That would be the worst possible thing to happen. Dream didn't want to live like the factionless; sleeping on the streets, separated from society. Without a faction, there was really no reason to live, because he would have no purpose.

 _Stay calm_. Dream closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

The door opens. Dream sat up, watching as Toriel came back into the mirrored room. She closes the door shut and locks it.

"Sorry about that," Toriel said quietly. She looked tense and nervous.

"What did I do wrong?" Dream asked anxiously, gripping the armrests tightly.

Toriel shook her head.

"Dream, your test results were inconclusive," she said slowly. "Normally, by the end of the test, four factions would have been ruled out. But in your test, only two have."

Dream stared at her in confusion. "Two?" he repeated.

Toriel began pacing the room, her hands in the pockets of her yellow dress. "If you had ignored the knife and selected the cheese in the first stage, the simulation would have led you into a different scenario to confirm your result as Amity. But you didn't, so Amity was ruled out." She stopped pacing and stared at Dream. "The simulation is supposed to progress until every faction is ruled out, and until one of them is left. The choices you made in the first stage didn't even allow Candor to be ruled out, so I had to change the scenario to put you on the bus. There, your insistence to lie to the man automatically ruled out Candor." 

Dream nodded slowly, listening closely. 

"But..." Toriel hesitated. "That's not entirely true. Honest people are not only Candor, but also the Abnegation, which gives us a problem."

"What do you mean?" Dream asked nervously.

"In the first scenario, you threw yourself at the dog and tackled it to stop the dog from attacking the little girl. That was a selfless act, so it was an Abnegation-centered response. But however, you also lied to the man when he told you that the truth would save him. That was not an Abnegation response." She gave an overwhelmed sigh. "Your decision to face the dog head-on suggested Dauntless, but so did taking the knife, which you didn't do."

She began pacing again. "Your choice to stop and strategize what to do when the dog approached suggested Erudite, too. I don't exactly know why you were so indecisive in the first scenario, but--"

"Wait, wait, hold on," Dream interrupted her impatiently. "So basically, you don't know what my result is?"

"In a way, I do." Toriel approached Dream and paused, standing next to the chair. "My conclusion is that you have equal aptitudes for Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite. This is an... _extremely_ rare outcome. People who get this kind of aptitude are..." she trailed off and glanced over her shoulder, staring at the locked door as if expecting someone to eavesdrop. "--are called _Divergent_ ," she whispered the last part so softly that Dream could just barely hear her. Her anxious look returned. She kneeled down next to the chair, leaning in closer to speak in a hushed voice.

"Dream, listen to me," Toriel said urgently. "No matter what happens, never _ever_ repeat this information to _anyone._ This is imperative."

"I-I know," Dream stammered, not quite grasping the magnitude of the problem. "We're not allowed to share our results."

"No. This is different. I don't just mean now, I mean _never._ " Toriel frowned. "Being Divergent is extremely dangerous. Do you understand?"

Dream didn't understand. How could multiple aptitudes be dangerous? Still, he nodded.

"Yes," he mumbled, letting go of his armrests. He felt dizzy and nauseous. He slipped out of the chair and stood up shakily, feeling unsteady.

Toriel went over to the door and unlocked it, exhaling softly.

"I have a suggestion," she said. "Go home early, okay? Don't wait for everyone to finish their tests. You have a big decision to make, and being alone will help."

"I have to tell my brother where I went," Dream replied.

"I'll tell him for you, okay?"

Dream nodded, hesitating before pulling the door open. He walked past Toriel, staring at the ground. His soul pounded, and he stumbled slightly. He pressed his hand against the wall to steady himself on his shaking legs, guiding himself down the hallway. He didn't want to think about the Choosing Ceremony tomorrow. It was his choice now. Abnegation. Dauntless. Erudite.

Divergent.


End file.
